AES New York 2015
Tutorial T8
Thursday, October 29, 5:45 pm — 6:45 pm (Room 1A13)
T8 - Pop Music from 1000 Years ago: Recording Throat Singers and Instruments from Inner Mongolia
Presenter:Richard King, McGill University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada; The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Abstract:
A case study of a modern recording session featuring centuries-old music from Inner Mongolian group Anda Union. Challenges and solutions as to how the voices were recorded in conjunction with the instruments, as each musician was simultaneously singing and playing. Horse head fiddles, calf skin drums and various strummed instruments were captured as part of the album. Throat singing, or "Hoomei," is performed in two fascinating manners—a sustained note is sung in the normal range and a second note is produced either one octave below, or in the range two octaves above where actual melodies may be produced in harmony with the held "tonic." Microphone choices, mix decisions, and production techniques will be discussed, video and audio examples will be provided.
